


Friends Waiting To Happen

by luthien82



Series: Dr. Blaine AU [4]
Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Canon, Angst and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-10
Updated: 2011-09-10
Packaged: 2017-10-23 14:57:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/251590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luthien82/pseuds/luthien82
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How do you get from Point A to Point B? And how do you get to Point A in the first place?</p><p>This is Kurt's story of how he got from not knowing Dr. Anderson at all to becoming his tentative new friend. Including breakfast, nieces, clubbing and bitching - not necessarily in that order.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Friends Waiting To Happen

**Author's Note:**

> This is a direct Sequel to "Some Impressions Stay". While it's not really required that you read the back stories, it might help.
> 
> My eternal thanks, yet again, belong to [ladybanteerin](http://ladybanteerin.livejournal.com/) who didn't mind reading through several drafts of this monster, and [adela_nightmoon](http://adela-nightmoon.livejournal.com/), the best and most patient beta on this planet. Thank you, ladies!
> 
> DISCLAIMER: Glee and its characters are the intellectual property of Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and 20th Century Fox. No profit is made, this has been written purely for fun.

“Uncle Kurt?”

“Yes, munchkin?” he replied, marking the place in the book he’d been reading to Lizzy from with his finger.

“Will you sing me a song?”

Kurt looked up from the book and stared at Lizzy speculatively. Her blue eyes stared innocently back, her young face open and honest. She was six, the brightest girl Kurt had ever met, and had been confined to a hospital bed for the last month with a shattered right leg that was healing painstakingly slow, even after numerous surgeries.

When his dad called to tell him that Finn and Lizzy had been in an accident and were in hospital Kurt couldn’t stop shaking for almost an hour. He’d offered to fly up to Ohio right away but his dad told him to stay put, that there was nothing he could do by being there. Kurt knew his dad was right but it didn’t prevent him from picturing the most gruesome scenarios. A few hours later Finn called, telling him that he was okay but Lizzy... well, Lizzy hadn’t been so lucky.

Apparently some idiot had ignored a stop sign and crashed into them. While Finn had been able to swing the car around, effectively prevented them getting killed, it had put the side of the car where Lizzy was sitting in the path of the crash. She’d been stuck in the car for several hours, her leg crushed from the waist down. Later, Finn assured Kurt that she’d been unconscious for most of the ordeal, but Kurt knew that Finn was shaken up about it and was severely blaming himself for not turning the car the other way around so it would hit _his_ side. Jenny had sorted him out pretty quickly though and told him she’d rather have her kid injured than not have her at all and that she was so _grateful_ for his quick thinking.

However, it became apparent pretty quickly that the hospital wasn’t really qualified to give Lizzy the treatment and aftercare she needed to regain the full use of her leg. Finn and Jenny hadn’t known what to do. Neither of them could quit work to go somewhere with their daughter for treatment. They needed both of their jobs to pay the hospital bills. Then someone from the hospital Jenny was working for recommended a pretty good trauma center in New York.

Kurt had insisted they send her. They were reluctant, of course. How could they leave their little girl all alone in the big city? In the end they caved when Kurt promised to visit her every day for at least four hours, and no it wasn’t an imposition _or_ a bother _or_ a problem. He’d just finished with his play and had a bit (or rather, a lot) of free time. And seriously, she was his favorite niece and he’d do pretty much anything for her. How could they even think he wouldn’t take on the responsibility to keep her entertained when it meant she’d get the best treatment possible here in New York?

So, they caved and sent her down to New York, calling her (and, subsequently, Kurt) every day and trying to visit as often as possible. It wasn’t an ideal situation but for the last three weeks it had worked out pretty well.

Kurt tried to be at the hospital at roughly the same time every day to give Lizzy some form of routine, but today he’d run a little late. He’d had an appointment he couldn’t get out of in time or reschedule but Lizzy had assured him it was fine. Still, Kurt tried to keep his promise of staying with her for at least four hours every day, so he’d do that, even if they might throw him out when the ward rounds started.

Kurt shook himself out of his musings, trying to quash the feeling of fear that gripped him every time he remembered the accident, and smiled at Lizzy.

“A song, hm? What would you like to hear?”

Her shy smile lit up her whole face. Even though she knew there wasn’t much he would ever deny her, she was always reluctant to ask him for anything.

“Would you sing the one with the dock and the tide?”

Kurt frowned, trying to remember a song with those criteria. It was always half a game with Lizzy to identify whatever song she wanted to hear but really, that was half the fun of singing to her. She may be only six, but boy that girl knew her music.

When it dawned on him, he couldn’t help but smile at her. “Oh, you mean the Otis Redding song?”

At her nod, he laughed quietly. “Have you been talking to grandpa again?”

She just giggled, then grabbed his hand. “Please, Uncle Kurt?”

He sighed in mock exasperation, closed the book and put it on the bedside table. “Okay, then. Let’s start Oldies night, shall we?”

He closed his eyes, trying to remember how the song started, then a small smile curled around his lips and he started to sing softly. By the time he was halfway through, Lizzy was humming the chorus along with him, her high voice blending in with Kurt’s. As he sang the chorus for the last time he put some extra twang into his words and improvised with some fancy notes. The whistling part started and both of them tried to get it right, but they sounded more like two balloons losing air and soon they dissolved into giggles and Kurt started poking her sides to prolong her laughter.

“I love you, Uncle Kurt,” she said suddenly, flinging her arms around his neck and drawing him in. Kurt closed his eyes, trying to swallow around the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat. Wrapping his arms around her thin frame, he whispered back, “I love you too, Lizzy.”

They were interrupted when the door opened and someone entered. Kurt looked up and almost did a double take when his brain caught up with his eyes because, yes, he _knew_ that guy. He looked a lot more tired and thinner than the last time they’d met, but it was definitely the hot doctor who’d treated his ankle six months ago (and, much to Kurt’s disappointment, hadn’t been there for his aftercare appointment a week later).

“Dr. Anderson!”

The doctor looked startled and a bit puzzled for a moment, but then his face cleared and a small smile appeared. “Kurt. Hello.” He looked from Kurt’s face to Lizzy and back, slowly putting his hands into his lab coat pockets. “This is a surprise.”

Lizzy grinned at the doctor and piped up, “Dr. Warbler, this is my Uncle Kurt.”

A light seemed to dawn in Dr. Anderson’s brain because his tired, polite smile from before morphed into a delighted grin. “Oh, you’re the famous Uncle Kurt. Now I get it.”

Kurt, who was still a little thrown by Lizzy calling him ‘Dr. Warbler’, raised an eyebrow at his niece. “I’m not sure I want to know.”

“Don’t worry,” Dr. Anderson assured him, coming over to stand at the foot of the bed and smiling down at Lizzy. “She had only good things to say.”

“Glad to hear it,” Kurt deadpanned, Lizzy punching his arm. Dr. Anderson unsuccessfully tried to bite down on his grin.

He cleared his throat, reaching for the chart attached to Lizzy’s bed and asked, “How are you today, Lizzy?”

Lizzy shrugged her tiny shoulders, looking down at the bedspread and following the whorls of the wool with her finger. “My leg hurt this morning, and then my toes tingled all day and that hurt too, but then Uncle Kurt sang me a song and made me laugh and I forgot about it.”

Dr. Anderson’s gaze flickered to Kurt for a second before he nodded, his face earnest yet still kind. “I see. I’d like to take a look at your leg, see if I can do anything about the tingling in your toes.” When he caught Lizzy’s obvious hesitation, he added, “If it helps, I can sing too.”

Lizzy perked up immediately - god, she was such a sucker for other people singing her songs - and Kurt’s eyebrows shot up. Dr. Anderson seemed to sense his questioning gaze because he smiled self consciously and raised a hand to rub the back of his neck. “It’s what I do. I studied music therapy before med school.”

Kurt’s face cleared, and he nodded and cleared his throat, trying to suppress the urge to put his chin on his hand and just stare at the doctor. God, even though he looked tired as hell, he was still gorgeous and hot. And he could sing. He could _sing_ and he did it for kids because it was his _job_ and seriously, this man couldn’t be more perfect if he tried. Kurt’s life seriously wasn’t fair.

He tried to be an adult about it, instead. Waving his hand at the bed, he asked, “Should I wait outside for this or-”

“No, no, you can stay,” Dr. Anderson interrupted him quickly, giving a subtle nod in Lizzy’s direction who, when Kurt looked at her, didn’t seem to be very impressed with his question.

“It’s not four hours yet, Uncle Kurt,” she reminded him. “You _promised_.”

“I know, munchkin, I’m sorry.”

She looked at him for another few seconds before she turned to face Dr. Anderson. “Will you sing me the song with the help and the feet?”

Kurt was still in the middle of parsing that new music riddle when Dr. Anderson nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. “Ah, a girl of my own musical tastes. I approve.” He held out the chart and gestured for someone. “Helen?”

It was then that Kurt noticed the two nurses still standing near the door together with an older looking woman in a lab coat and blue scrubs. Oh, right. Dr. Anderson was still a second year resident. He probably wouldn’t do the rounds all on his own. In hindsight, it was actually strange that there weren’t more people present.

The nurse Dr. Anderson had gestured over pulled back the blanket efficiently and took the clipboard from him. Then she stood back, waiting with a poised pen.

Dr. Anderson rounded the bed to stand beside it, leaned over her leg, his hands hovering above the cast and smiled up at her.

“Okay, here we go,” he said, lowered his hands and started to sing.

Kurt bit down on his lip to stop himself from laughing when he finally recognized the song, and then he had to bite harder when the soft voice curled slowly, almost sensually around him. Dr. Anderson worked efficiently while he sang Lizzy her song, and when he reached the chorus, Kurt couldn’t help himself and started to harmonize. He received a quick grin from the doctor and grinned back out of reflex. Lizzy, of course, was delighted.

Kurt couldn’t help but notice the sort of wistful look Dr. Anderson got at the part where “his life had changed in oh so many ways”. He asked himself what it was that the good doctor was hiding, for clearly something had happened to his handsome, dapper self since the last time Kurt had seen him. But it wasn’t really his place to ask and honestly, they didn’t know each other at all and Dr. Anderson had always been strictly professional. ‘Get a grip, Kurt,’ he told himself sternly and sang harmony for the rest of the song without picturing Dr. Anderson in a number of different, decidedly non-PG-rated settings. Much.

When they were done, so was apparently Dr. Anderson’s examination of Lizzy’s leg. He stood up straight again and grinned down at Lizzy. “All done.” Then he turned around to Nurse Helen and talked quietly to her while she jotted down notes in the chart. Kurt turned to Lizzy and smiled at her, poking her in the stomach until she giggled quietly. “Can I thank your grandpa for this new found love for The Beatles as well?”

Lizzy grabbed his finger and held onto it, not looking at Kurt. “I like the song. Daddy listens to it sometimes.”

Kurt tried to smile reassuringly at Lizzy, but inside he cringed. Of course he’d known that the child missed her parents every day, and as much as she adored Kurt, he wasn’t a proper substitute for a parent’s hug. Still, no hug was probably worse so he drew her close and kissed her temple. “I know you miss them.”

Lizzy shrugged, then threw him a sly sideways glance. “Well, not all the time.”

Kurt took it for what it was and poked her in the stomach again. “I’m so glad that I’m so entertaining to you.”

Lizzy’s shy smile had Kurt kiss the top of her head. Dr. Anderson cleared his throat and he looked up. His hazel eyes showed slight amusement - oh dear god, he’d probably heard every teasing word he and Lizzy had exchanged - when he addressed Lizzy, “The tingling in your toes is actually a good sign, Lizzy. It means your bones are healing. Right now it’s very unpleasant but trust me, it will get better. If it starts to hurt too much you let Nurse Helen know, okay? We’ll do a new x-ray in three days when we take off your cast to see how far along your bones are.”

Lizzy nodded, staring dubiously at her foot. Dr. Anderson smiled one last time at her, then at Kurt before leaving the room. Nurse Helen stayed behind for a few moments longer until she stopped writing in the chart, hung it back on Lizzy’s bed and left as well after a small smile.

Lizzy started picking at a loose thread on her duvet and Kurt covered her hand with his, never taking his eyes off the small window in the door where he could see Dr. Anderson talking to the older doctor. He was nodding, emphasizing a point with a hand gesture and she seemed to agree, saying something to him with a smile and a nod before she left down the corridor. Kurt expected Dr. Anderson to follow her, but instead his shoulders slumped and he pushed a hand through his thick, unruly hair. Even from behind, he looked so _tired_.

“Will you excuse me for a minute, Lizzy? I’ll be right back, okay?”

“Okay,” she replied warily, but he smiled at her reassuringly. “I’ll be right outside the door, I promise. You can probably see me right through the window. I’m not going far.”

She seemed to consider that, then nodded. “Can we call Daddy when you get back?”

Kurt grinned. “I promise.” With one last glance at her he opened the door and slipped outside.

Dr. Anderson seemed to be in a completely different world because he visibly startled when Kurt said his name softly. He raised his head and tried to smile at Kurt but it was so painful even he seemed to notice and stopped.

“What can I do for you?” he asked, still so unfailingly polite, just like Kurt remembered. Kurt looked back to the door to make sure Lizzy could still see him before he focused completely on Dr. Anderson.

“Actually, this might seem very forward and is definitely impolite but...” Kurt hesitated only a second before he asked, “Are you okay?”

The question seemed to startle Dr. Anderson. He opened his mouth, but didn’t say anything for a moment. Then he closed it again, frowning slightly as if he didn’t know the answer. Kurt almost regretted asking in the first place when Dr. Anderson seemed to shake off whatever had rendered him speechless. He took a deep breath, looked Kurt straight into the eyes and said, “I’m fine.”

Kurt had to use every ounce of strength he possessed not to raise an incredulous eyebrow. He wondered if anyone had ever told Dr. Anderson that he was a horrible liar.

Dr. Anderson must have seen something on his face anyway because a sad smile suddenly graced his lips and he ducked his head. “Yeah,” he added softly. “I didn’t believe myself either.” With that he turned around and walked away down the corridor, leaving Kurt even more bemused than before.

* * *

“Hey there, girl! Sorry I’m late!”

Kurt leaned down, bracing himself on the small coffee shop table, to give Rachel a kiss on the cheek before sinking down into the opposite chair with a deep sigh, closing his eyes.

He could feel Rachel’s eyes on him but remained still for a few heartbeats before he let out another sigh, opened his eyes and smiled at her. “Sorry, it’s been one of those days.”

“Is Lizzy okay?”

Kurt grimaced. It had been a tough day. Ever since they removed the cast to do some x-rays and then re-casted it, her leg hurt her and made her cranky. They may not be related by blood but Lizzy sure could be as much of a bitch as Kurt. Luckily for all involved, Kurt wasn’t easily deterred.

“She’s had better days,” he answered Rachel’s question after a moment, starting to rifle through his bag for his wallet. “Excuse me for just a minute. If I don’t get any coffee right now I might actually start to cry.”

Rachel hid her grin behind her cup and waved him along.

Five minutes later, he was sipping on his coffee and bringing Rachel up to speed on Lizzy’s health. They hadn’t seen each other in almost five weeks so there was quite a bit to catch up on.

“Anyway, she’s been cranky ever since and not even phone calls to Finn seem to help her much. Finn and Jenny decided to come visit this weekend, come hell or high water. Their words,” Kurt concluded his tale. Rachel patted his hand sympathetically.

Suddenly Kurt sat up straight. “Oh! I haven’t told you yet, have I? Do you remember the doctor I was telling you about? The one who treated my ankle?”

Rachel’s eyes lit up. Grinning at him, she leaned forward, “I remember. You couldn’t shut up about how hot and handsome he was. Did you meet him again?”

Kurt narrowed his eyes at her, not quite sure if she was mocking him, but his elation won out and he outright grinned, “Oh I can do you one better. He’s actually Lizzy’s doctor now.”

“No way!”

“Believe me. I was as shocked as you.”

He could see that Rachel had to keep herself in check not to squeal outright. “So, what? Is he still as handsome as he was six months ago? Did he remember you? Did you flirt?”

Kurt grimaced. “Please, for the love of everything that is holy, _never_ wiggle your eyebrows at me ever again.”

When Rachel just rolled her eyes, Kurt sent her a glare. She held up her hands in defeat. “Alright, I won’t. Now stop beating around the bush and spill the details, Hummel!”

Kurt stilled, his brows furrowing. “Actually, I’ve no idea what’s going on.”

Now Rachel looked puzzled. Frankly, Kurt couldn’t blame her. “What do you mean?”

Kurt sighed, running his finger over the rim of his coffee cup. “Well, he’s still very handsome and definitely hot but... I don’t know. Something’s bothering him. He looked tired and almost... _washed out_. As if all his colors were muted or something.”

Rachel frowned. “Oh boy. If you start talking in metaphors it’s really getting to you.”

Kurt gave her an unimpressed stare. Rachel didn’t back down. “Don’t look at me like that, Kurt. You know I’m right. So, what did you do? Talk to him?”

“I tried, last week. Right after he showed up in Lizzy’s room to examine her. I was running late that day and had been present for the daily rounds for the first time. That’s why I never met him before when I visited Lizzy.”

He paused, furrowing his brows. “I haven’t seen him around since that day. It’s why I’m late today, too. I thought I might run into him again.”

He’d been late to the hospital the whole week, actually, but he wasn’t going to tell Rachel that. He sounded pathetic enough as it was. But it had been the same thing every day: Dr. Anderson didn’t show up for rounds. Maybe his stint in the pediatrics ward was over? He _was_ still a resident, after all.

“Don’t tell me you ran him off already with your acerbic tongue,” Rachel asked him, mostly joking.

Kurt glared. “No. As a matter of fact, I just asked him if he was okay.”

Rachel’s eyebrows shot up. “And he ran?”

“Well, no” Kurt conceded. “He tried to tell me he was fine, then admitted he didn’t believe himself either, and left.”

Kurt fidgeted with his coffee cup. “You think I scared him off?”

“Well,” Rachel started, her gaze pensive. “Some people can’t deal with someone who is straight and to the point, like you.”

When Kurt raised an eyebrow at her, she rolled her eyes and slapped his arm. “Cute, Kurt. Real cute. You know what I mean, Jesus Christ.”

“I know,” he replied, rubbing her arm soothingly. “It’s just... I barely know him and I had the audacity to ask him if he was fine, as if I had any right to do so. We’re not friends or anything.”

“But you’d like for you to be,” Rachel said, not really making it a question. Kurt just shrugged lightly, but it was painfully obvious that Kurt had been fascinated with Dr. Anderson ever since he’d treated Kurt and told him he was originally from Ohio.

“I’m just worried I scared him away with my directness,” Kurt admitted, not looking at Rachel. Her snort made him look up though.

“Trust me, Kurt. _That_ was not direct. If anything, you handled him with kid gloves.”

“Thank you, Rachel” Kurt replied, every word dripping with sarcasm. She just smiled at him and patted his hand.

They sat like that for a moment, each of them in their own world, until Kurt sat up straight. “I need another coffee. What about you?”

“You know my order,” Rachel said, smiling at him.

“Okay, I’ll be right back. And when I am, we’ll talk about what _you’ve_ been up to, lady” Kurt promised and made his way over to the coffee line.

He caught Rachel’s smile on the way back, and after he was settled again after giving her her coffee, she launched into a tale about her trials and tribulations on Broadway - or rather, behind the curtains of Broadway. Apparently there were a lot of girls like her out there who dreamed of making it on Broadway.

“Anyway,” she concluded after a while, “I’ve got some more auditions lined up. One of them is for _Wicked_ , can you believe that?”

Kurt almost choked on his coffee. He started coughing, his eyes watering while he looked at Rachel who looked a little smug. When he finally had his breath back he rasped, “Oh my god, are you kidding me?”

Rachel grinned. “Nope. There was a casting call and everything and I thought to myself, why not?”

Kurt was still trying to get his breath back. “I didn’t even know they _were_ casting. Why did I not hear about this?”

“Maybe because they’re looking for new girls?”

That stung a little. Granted, Kurt had been out of high school and his desire to play whichever role he pleased no matter for which gender it had been written had calmed down considerably, but this was _Wicked_! He would _kill_ to be in that musical, and if it meant he would have to strut around on stage in high heels or tights he would damn well do it.

So he was admittedly a little bitchy when he raised an eyebrow at her and drawled, “Do tell. Will you be the witch thrice removed?”

“No,” Rachel said, stretching the word while glaring at him. “I’m trying to get the leading role, if you must know.”

Kurt sat up straight, gaping at her. When he caught himself, he shut his mouth quickly and shook his head slightly. “Well, nobody ever said you weren’t ambitious. But damn, girl. You’re really going for it this time, aren’t you?”

Rachel grimaced. “Well, to be fair I don’t have high hopes of actually making it, but you know me. Think positive, right?”

“It’s pretty much the only thing we can do in this business,” Kurt confirmed, sipping on his coffee.

“And you never know, maybe I’ll actually get to be the understudy of a leading role. You never know until you try, right?”

“That is certainly true,” Kurt said, grinning at her before taking another sip.

“Are we still on for our night out next week?” Rachel asked after a moment. “I swear to God, if I don’t get out and do something other than perform all day I’ll start to scream.”

Kurt snorted. “Honey, the day you stop wanting to perform is the day they put you six feet under. But don’t you worry,” Kurt assured her, sending her a smirk around his cup, “I’ve got just the place in mind. I promise you’ll forget all your Broadway woes.”

“And who knows? Maybe we’’ll have something to celebrate?”

“Or we have to drown your sorrows in copious amounts of alcohol,” Kurt replied.

Rachel inclined her head. “Or that. I’d certainly prefer the first option, though.”

“You’re preaching to the choir, girl” Kurt murmured and, when Rachel raised her cup, clinked his against it. Then they smiled at each other, knowing and a little self-deprecating. This business was hard, and they’d both been burned. But they were living their dreams, and some days that was all that mattered.

***

Three days later, Kurt was reading to a pouting Lizzy when the door to her room opened and she let out a loud and delighted squeal of, “Daddy!”

“Hey, my little muffin,” Finn said, grinning from ear to ear and leaning down to hug his little girl tightly. “How’ve you been?”

Lizzy didn’t answer, just clung harder to Finn’s broad shoulders. Kurt closed the book slowly and put it on his lap, smiling slightly at the family reunion. He looked at Jenny standing behind her husband, looking equally as fond at them as Kurt did, then decided that she wouldn’t get to hug her kid anytime soon and rounded the bed to greet Kurt.

“Hello Gorgeous,” he greeted her and gave her a hug. She laughed quietly into his ear and swatted his arm. She tried to hide her blush by ducking her head so her blond hair fell over her face but it was a moot point - her fair skin betrayed her anyway.

They both turned to the bed when they heard a rustle and the soft murmur of Finn’s voice talking quietly to his daughter. Lizzy had tears on her face but she looked lighter than she had the whole week. Her eyes found her mother’s and new tears welled up when she held out her arms. Jenny didn’t hesitate at all and sat down on the bed to hug her just as tightly as Finn had before.

Kurt sat the book down on the bedside table and rounded the bed to greet Finn who gave him a half hug and a slap to the shoulder.

“Thanks for looking after her,” he said quietly into Kurt’s ear before he retreated. Kurt smiled and shook his head.

“It was my pleasure. But I think it’ll be good for her to have you guys around for a couple of days.”

He could see the regret on Finn’s face that he couldn’t be there for his child 24/7 but Kurt slapped his arm. “Snap out of it. You’re both doing the best you can right now. Don’t worry about it, okay?”

“Okay,” Finn said, rubbing his arm faintly.

“Enjoy your kid while you can,” Kurt added and looked at the bed when he heard mother and daughter part at last.

“Hey munchkin,” he said to Lizzy, smiling and stroking her hair back from her face. “I’ll see you on Monday, okay?”

“Okay,” she replied in a small voice, trying to wipe away the tears on her cheek. Kurt grinned at her and took a tissue out of the box sitting on her bedside table and started dabbing at her cheeks.

“None of that now,” he implored soothingly. “You’ll have a great time with your parents and you’ll feel better in no time, I promise.”

She smiled shyly at him before throwing her arms around his neck, pressing her face against his chest.

“I love you, Uncle Kurt,” she mumbled into his shirt. He pressed his cheek against the top of her head and slung his arm around her waist, squeezing his eyes shut tight so he wouldn’t start crying too. Jesus, he’d see her again in two days, not two months.

“I love you too,” he whispered, then kissed the top of her head briefly before letting her go, brushed away one last stray tear and stood up. He looked at Finn, then Jenny when he asked, “I’ll see you guys later? Unless you decide to camp out here.”

“We’ll play it by ear, “Jenny said quietly, stroking her daughter’s hair. Knowing Jenny, she would probably insist on Finn making use of Kurt’s offer and sleep on his couch while she stayed with her kid. On the other hand, Finn was pretty stubborn when it came to Lizzy, so bets were off if either of them would even make it back to Kurt’s apartment.

“Anyway, the offer stands,” he promised, then hugged Jenny over Lizzy’s bed, poked Lizzy on the nose and stroked Finn’s arm briefly before grabbing his bag and his jacket from a chair and turning for the door.

“Let me walk you out,” Finn said, surprising Kurt. He gave him a puzzled glance but Finn just shook his head, put a guiding hand on the small of Kurt’s back and pushed him out the door. As soon as it closed, he turned to Kurt, his face solemn and worried. “How is she, really?”

Kurt blinked, crossing his arms over his chest. “She misses you guys, that’s all. As far as I can tell, she’s healing exactly as she should but I’m no doctor, they can tell you everything you want to know. Speaking of which,” Kurt interrupted himself, waving down the hall. “I should probably tell the attending nurse that you guys are here so they won’t sic security on you.”

Finn’s lips twitched. “I could take them.”

Kurt raised an eyebrow. “Sure you could, Officer Hudson,” he deadpanned. “No need to get physical if I can warn them in advance.”

“You want me to go with you?”

Kurt shook his head, grinning. “Go back to your kid.” After staring at each other a moment longer, Finn nodded, squeezed Kurt’s shoulder one last time and went back into the room, closing the door softly behind himself.

Kurt patted his jacket pockets to check he had his keys and mobile before heading down the corridor to the nurse’s station. Nurse Helen looked up and smiled at Kurt. “Hello, Kurt. Leaving already?”

Kurt smiled back. “I’m kind of superfluous this weekend, I’m afraid.” At her puzzled glance, he added, “Lizzy’s parents are visiting.”

“Ah, I see,” she nodded in understanding, grabbing a chart and opening it. “I’ll make a note so nobody will mistake them for intruders.”

“I’d appreciate that,” Kurt replied. “My brother would probably tell you he could take the security guards, but I doubt his boss would be all that happy to have to bail him out of jail.”

Another puzzled gaze met him and Kurt shook his head, grinning. “He’s a police officer in our home town.”

“Ah. Well, I can see how his boss would be displeased with that,” she grinned at him and continued to write.

“Oh, one more thing,” Kurt added. “Could you send Lizzy’s doctor down here? Her parents would like to have a better update than I was able to give them.”

“I’ll page Dr. Marshall right away but it might take a while.”

“I don’t think they’ll mind much,” Kurt assured her. “They haven’t seen each other for a month. I’m not even sure I’ll see the two of them again before Sunday afternoon.”

They both grinned at each other while Nurse Helen reached for the phone. Kurt watched her sending the page, debating with himself if he should just leave it be - let’s be real here, he didn’t know Dr. Anderson at all and had no right to inquire about him - but in the end his curiosity won out.

“Is Dr. Anderson on rotation in another ward?”

Nurse Helen looked up, frowning slightly at him. Kurt added hastily, “It’s just... the first time I met him he was treating my sprained ankle in the emergency room and then he appeared here. He told me back then he was still a resident and he hasn’t been around for Lizzy’s rounds all week.”

Nurse Helen had raised an eyebrow at him and Kurt shut up. Well, it had been worth a try, at least.

“Actually, he’s on sick leave right now,” Nurse Helen surprised him by answering, looking back down on her chart. “He’ll be back soon.”

Something painful in Kurt’s chest suddenly loosened. So he hadn’t lost sight of the good doctor yet again after all. He hadn’t known how much he’d dreaded the answer to his question until Nurse Helen reassured him. He breathed in deeply, then let it out slowly.

“Thank you. I’ll see you on Monday.” With a last smile at her he left the ward, a slight spring in his step and his heart lighter than it’d been all week.

***

When he ran into Dr. Anderson again, it was completely by accident and quite literally. Kurt was on his way up to Lizzy’s room - thank goodness, the visit from her parents had done her some good and she’d stopped being so tetchy all the time, even though the goodbyes had been hard on everybody and Lizzy had been down for almost all of Monday until Kurt surprised her with a performance of Aladdin’s “One Jump Ahead”, silly faces included, until she laughed - and was searching for his ringing phone in his bag while he waited for the elevator to arrive. He finally found it when the doors opened and he stepped forward without looking up. However, before he could answer the phone, he came into painful contact with a hard chest. He probably would’ve fallen flat on his ass if a hand hadn’t grabbed his elbow to steady him.

“Careful there,” someone said and Kurt’s head snapped up. Dr. Anderson’s hazel eyes shone with amusement while he let go of Kurt slowly after making sure he’d got his footing back. “Wouldn’t want you out of commission again.”

“It’s not like I’ve got any engagements right now,” Kurt groused before he felt himself flush. Jesus, why was he always so rude to this guy?

“I’m sorry,” he said instantly. “I seem to have a penchant for saying the worst thing possible all the time. Thank you for...” he waved his hand vaguely, “... you know. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

“I figured,” Dr. Anderson said, clearly biting back his smile. It was then Kurt actually noticed him.

He seemed better. Granted, it had been two weeks since they’d last seen each other, but he clearly looked better. Not quite as okay as he’d been the first time they met, but Kurt didn’t feel the urge to get out the metaphors to describe how tired the man looked.

“You seem better,” Kurt blurted out, the words totally bypassing his brain-to-mouth filter. He felt himself flush and wanted to apologize again but Dr. Anderson gave him a small smile and nodded. “I am. I think.”

Kurt nodded slightly, trying to decide if he should add anything or just go around the good doctor into the elevator - which they were totally blocking, oh god someone was probably calling hospital security right this minute and they’d get into trouble for hogging an important piece of hospital equipment - but he was saved to make a decision when Dr. Anderson started to fidget, clearly unsure or uncomfortable with something. Kurt was the first to acknowledge that he didn’t know the man at all but he never got the impression that he got nervous or unsure about anything.

“Actually,” Dr. Anderson began, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. “I wanted to thank you.”

Kurt’s eyebrows shot up. “For what?” he asked, confused.

“For making me realize that I _wasn’t_... okay. I mean, I knew that I wasn’t but...” He rubbed his eyebrow, avoiding Kurt’s gaze. Then something shifted in him and he looked at Kurt. “Hearing someone I met only once in my entire life ask me if I was okay made me realize that I needed to take some time off to sort myself out. So, thank you. For giving a damn.”

Kurt was speechless. When he’d asked the man after his well being all those weeks ago it had never crossed his mind that he could actually be grateful for Kurt’s impertinence. Hearing him issue a thank you sort of threw Kurt for a loop.

Of course, he was also secretly delighted.

“My pleasure,” he murmured, meaning every word. Dr. Anderson nodded, then looked behind himself as if only now realizing he was blocking the elevator.

“I should...” Kurt started, gesturing at it. Dr. Anderson took a step back, making way for Kurt.

“Of course. You’re here to visit Lizzy. I heard she had a rough couple of days?”

“More like a week,” Kurt said under his breath, but smiled at Dr. Anderson and said louder, “Yes. Her leg was hurting and she missed her parents. But everything is better now.”

“Good to hear,” Dr. Anderson smiled back. “I’ll see you two later, during rounds?”

“Definitely,” Kurt nodded, then finally stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the pediatrics ward. The last thing he saw of Dr. Anderson was a small grin and a nod before he turned and left. As soon as the doors were shut, Kurt fell back against the wall, closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm his rapidly beating heart.

“Oh boy,” he murmured to himself. “You are in a shitload of trouble.”

* * *

“Sorry I bailed out on you last week,” Kurt greeted Rachel in front of the club they decided to party away their woes in. “I had an audition on short notice which was really, _really_ early the next day and it would’ve been a very bad idea to dance the night away.”

“It’s okay,” Rachel waved away his apologies and kissed his cheek. “You’re buying me a drink as an apology.”

“I am?”

“Of course,” Rachel beamed, then grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the entry. “By the way, you look awesome.”

Kurt beamed at her, looking down at himself. He’d had his outfit disasters in high school - though he would never admit it to anyone - but in recent years he’d learned that less was sometimes more. He’d gone with that theme tonight, not looking for anyone to impress. So he’d thought the low-cut grey skinny jeans hugging his slender hips and the black button-down shirt with silver buttons were doing the trick quite nicely. Kurt congratulated himself on a job well done and looked Rachel over. He whistled in appreciation. “So do you. Damn, girl.” He stopped her to appreciate the silvery, short-skirted dress hugging her curves in all the right ways. “You look hot. Got anything special planned for tonight?”

Rachel turned around again and threw a smirk over her shoulder. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

They got in line to wait, stomping around a bit so they wouldn’t get cold - March nights in New York City were just plain chilly but nobody was deemed sexy in a thick winter coat and the fees for wardrobe were just plain highway robbery - chatting away about the last two weeks since their coffee date.

“And I said to myself, ‘don’t be upset when they call you and tell you they chose someone else’,” Rachel was telling him while they slowly crept forwards. “Imagine my surprise when they called back to tell me I was in the next round of auditions. So, I’m still in the running for Elphaba, can you believe that?”

Kurt pouted. “You know, I’d totally be jealous if I wasn’t so excited for you.” Then the grin spread over his face while he took her hands in his and they did a little dance. Rachel laughed at him. “So what, you’re really going for the leading role now?”

Rachel nodded. “You know me, I’m all for thinking big. But I’m not too far gone. I’ll be lucky if I get second or third understudy. But even that would be amazing. I’ve already gone further than I expected.”

“Coming from you, that’s saying a lot,” Kurt teased her, then pulled her into a sideways hug. “I’m proud of you no matter what,” he murmured against her temple and she hid her smile behind the curtain of her long hair.

“Thank you, Kurt” she replied, then grabbed his arm, suddenly excited. “So, was the audition successful at least?”

Kurt made a grimace and shrugged one shoulder. “I’m not sure. I haven’t heard from them yet, which could mean anything in this business.”

She made a grimace and rubbed his arm in sympathy. Kurt hugged her again. “But that’s okay. I might be on the verge of selling one of my screenplays.”

He barely had time to blink before Rachel shrieked and threw her arms around his neck. “Oh my god, Kurt, that’s amazing!”

He hugged her back out of reflex and couldn’t help a short laugh escaping him. “Calm down, nothing has been decided just yet. I’m talking to some people right now.”

“Still,” Rachel insisted, grabbing his face between her hands and looking earnestly at him. “You’ve always had a way with words and I’m sure that whatever play you’re on the verge of selling will be an instant hit. Also, I call dibs on the female lead.”

“As if that was ever in question,” Kurt deadpanned, then pressed a gentle kiss against her cheek. “Thank you for believing in me.”

“You deserve it.”

“You wanna come in or not?”

The gruff voice interrupted their moment and they both turned in sync, staring at the bouncer of the club. They’d been so involved in their conversation that they hadn’t even noticed the line moving forward. They shared a small glance before dissolving into laughter, then showing the bouncer their IDs and getting inside.

The bass made the floor vibrate before they were even anywhere near the dance floor. They got in line to pay for entrance, holding hands. When it was their turn, the girl behind the counter looked at them and raised a brow. “Hey guys. This is a mixed sexual preference club. If you’re down with that, it’s 15 quid each,” she told them and, after having received the money, she asked them, “Which color bracelet do you want?”

Rachel and Kurt who had both never been to this club before but had wanted to check it out for a while now, gave her a confused look. She sighed and pointed to a sign directly behind her. Kurt looked up, noticing a list of available colors and what they meant. He wasn’t even halfway through before he started to blush.

“Can we get more than one bracelet?” Rachel asked beside him, apparently fascinated by the concept of stating your intent of going to a club in this manner.

The girl behind the counter raised her brow again. “Sure. Probably the easiest way to prevent misunderstandings.”

Rachel nodded, looking at the sign again before telling the girl, “I’d like to have yellow, blue and green then.”

Kurt stared at her, checking with the list again and then staring at her even more disbelieving. Rachel just grinned at him and took the three glow-in-the-dark bracelets from the counter girl who directed her impatient glance on Kurt now. Kurt bit his lip, looked at the list one more time and then said, “I’ll have purple and blue.”

The girl gave him his bracelets without a blink, then wished them a pleasant stay - as if they’d just checked into the Four Seasons or something, honestly - and dismissed them by turning her attention on the next customers. Rachel gripped Kurt’s arm and dragged him further down the corridor into the direction where the music was coming from. They stopped before they entered the main part of the club to put their bracelets on and Kurt looked at Rachel yet again while helping her to snap the bracelets so they would glow and then putting it on her wrist.

“I get the ‘straight’ part,” he said, wiggling the yellow bracelet at her before putting it on. “I even get the ‘just here for dancing’ part, seeing that this is the reason we’re here,” he continued, wiggling the blue bracelet at her. Then he stopped, held the green one up to her face and asked her incredulously, “But ‘up for a flirt and maybe more’? Seriously? You pretty much invited every straight guy in this joint to grope you all evening.”

Rachel gave him an unimpressed stare while grabbing his two bracelets to put them on him. “At least I am up to something, unlike some other boring people I will not name. Anyway, I’ll have you. Your bitchy face could kill any uninvited boners in a matter of seconds.”

“Oh thank you very much,” Kurt snapped at her, putting on aforementioned bitchy face. Rachel just grinned and grabbed his hand, then hesitated.

“They didn’t mention ‘bi’ on their list. What do they give them?”

“I don’t know,” Kurt replied, shrugging. “Whatever they feel like at the moment? Or they give them yellow and purple. I’m pretty sure we’ll find out. Now let’s go dance.” And with that he dragged her into the main part of the club.

The music was like a wall when they stepped inside. The bass was thrumming so loud that they could feel the vibrations from head to toe, their hearts trying to get in sync with the overwhelming dominance of the beat. The masses filling the dance floor were writhing and grinding against each other in various combinations. Everyone was wearing the glow-in-the-dark bracelets in various colors. Some had up to six different bracelets on their arms; Kurt preferred not to think about those people and the adventures they were up to.

He looked to the side at Rachel who was staring at the dance floor in fascination, her eyes big and bright, small delighted smile on her lips. Kurt touched her shoulder and, when he had her attention, gestured towards the bar on their right. She nodded and grabbed his hand tighter before they made their way over to get some drinks.

They had to yell their orders, and even then Kurt wasn’t quite sure if the bartender got it right until he set their drinks in front of them. Kurt had to give it to him: he was obviously practiced at lip reading. Kurt paid and tipped him, then turned around and leaned back against the bar, one arm braced on the counter top while holding his margarita. Rachel clinked glasses with him and they sipped on their drinks before perusing the dance floor.

The music was your typical club fare: dance beats and pop music mixed live by an in house DJ. Kurt was no expert but he thought the guy - or girl, you never knew - was pretty good. The songs fit together at least, merging into one another easily. Kurt had been to numerous clubs where the DJs didn’t even have that simple task down. They watched the writhing masses, not even attempting a conversation because they both needed their voices intact tomorrow. Then the beat suddenly changed to a song they both knew. They grinned at each other, downed the rest of their drinks - and boy, if they continued to drink in that fashion they’d be drunk within the hour - and made their way into the crowd.

It was hot and sticky in there, everyone moving at once, sweating and panting and rubbing against each other. It was heaven. Kurt put his arm around Rachel’s waist, pulling her close before their hips started to move in sync with the beat. Around them, people were jostling them lightly and it didn’t take long for Kurt’s shirt to stick to his sweaty back. He could see the perspiration on Rachel’s upper lip and forehead, but she grinned with her eyes closed, her face raised up to the ceiling while she moved with Kurt, rubbing against him secure in the knowledge that he wouldn’t cop a feel.

He didn’t know how long they were dancing like this before they sort of drifted away from each other a bit. He could still see Rachel but she was dancing with a tall guy who’d lost his shirt already. His muscled chest was glistening with sweat, his arms encircling Rachel’s slim waist. He had to lean down to talk into her ear and she grinned at him when he straightened up again. Kurt decided she was fine and closed his eyes to give himself up to the beat. It didn’t take long before an arm slid around his waist and someone was grinding against him from behind. Kurt allowed it for a bit, moving fluidly with the other guy. When the hand tried to move south, however, he grabbed the guy’s wrist tight and turned around, waving his two bracelets into the guy’s face. He was cute, but definitely not Kurt’s type. The guy shrugged, grinned unrepentantly and mouthed, “Worth a try!” Then he danced away, looking for his next quest.

Kurt turned around again and ran straight into Rachel who laughed at her own clumsiness. Kurt’s arm snaked around her waist again and he leaned in to shout into her ear, “Where did you leave Mr. Handsome?”

“He wanted to know if we were up for a threesome,” she yelled back and Kurt reared back as if slapped. He tried to get a glimpse of the guy so he could stay away - far, far away, oh my god seriously! - but he’d already vanished into the crowd. Rachel gestured for him to lean in again and shouted, “Don’t worry. I told him we’d consider it only if he let you top. He was out of here faster than I could blink.”

Kurt laughed and hid his face on her shoulder. He pressed a kiss against her ear and then resumed dancing.

Time passed in sort of a haze and he was positively drenched when they finally fought their way out of the dancing masses back to the bar to grab some bottles of water. He downed his faster than was probably wise but he was parched. He could feel every muscle in his body, knew that he would ache in all the good ways tomorrow but not so much that he wouldn’t be able to get out of bed.

A blond guy who reminded Kurt faintly of Sam from their high school days approached them at one point, smiling at Rachel and showing her his arm and his bracelets, then pointed to the dance floor with a questioning gaze. Rachel looked at Kurt who made a shooing gesture. She beamed, handed him her half full bottle of water and took the guy’s hand. They smiled at each other and were soon swallowed by the crowd, leaving Kurt alone at the bar. He wasn’t quite ready yet to get back into the crowd and looked around for somewhere more quiet where he could sit back and relax a bit.

That’s when he noticed the doorway near the DJ booth. A sign told him it was the “Chill Out Lounge”, which sounded pretty much exactly like what Kurt was looking for. He fought his way through the mass of people, taking more time than anticipated, and finally burst through the doorway into a corridor where the music was instantly muted, just a faint memory of bass and volume. He took a deep breath before making his way further down the corridor until he could barely hear the club music, then the corridor branched out and led into a cozy room, dimly lit with comfortable looking couches and armchairs with another bar opposite of where Kurt had entered. Most of the seats in there were already taken but some couches near the back were still available and Kurt went straight for one. He sank into the cushions with a sigh and closed his eyes, enjoying the quiet murmur of conversation for a bit.

Unobtrusive music played in the background; it was on the jazzy side, intentionally soothing. Seriously, this club got better and better the longer Kurt stayed here. He opened his eyes to check if the people sitting here had bracelets as well, and sure enough they had. Most of them only had their sexual orientation and a white bracelet - if Kurt remembered correctly, it was signaling ‘not interested’ or “already taken’ or something along those lines - but there were some wearing blue or green as well, probably taking a break from dancing like Kurt.

His mobile was vibrating in the pocket of his jeans and he lifted his hips to get a hand into it. He had a text from Rachel.

_Where r u?_

_Chillout lounge near DJ booth_ he wrote back, then put his phone back into his jeans pocket. It didn’t take Rachel all that long to find him and she sank down into the seat beside him, sighing deeply and grabbing her bottle of water from the table. After she’d downed almost all the water left in it, she looked around herself. “This is cozy.”

Kurt made an affirmative noise, then angled his body towards hers and asked, “Lost the boytoy already? Or did he want a threesome as well?”

Rachel grinned. “No. He was rather sweet, actually. His name’s Jeff. He needed to find his two friends and I was exhausted so we decided to call it quits for now but we both wouldn’t be averse to more dancing later in the evening.”

“Awww, star crossed lovers and all, how cute,” Kurt crooned and dodged Rachel’s hand trying to slap him.

“At least I’m trying to get laid, unlike some other people I could mention.”

Kurt let out a frustrated breath. “How many times do I have to tell you that I’m not really in the right frame of mind for relationship bullshit at the moment?”

Rachel patted his hand sitting between them on the couch cushion. “You mean you’re not in the right frame of mind unless his name is Dr. Anderson,” she teased him gently. Kurt didn’t dare look at her, concentrating instead on the bar and the bartender cleaning the counter top.

Rachel gently grabbing his hand startled him and he looked back at her. She seemed contrite. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to tease you.”

He raised a disbelieving eyebrow because, seriously, this was _them_ , and Rachel amended, “Okay, okay, I do. But I don’t want to get you down by doing it.”

Kurt smiled slightly at her. “It’s okay, really.”

“How _is_ that going, anyway?”

Kurt thought about it, not quite sure how to respond. Ever since he’d run into Dr. Anderson again last week - and god, he still felt like an idiot about it - he’d seen him every day of the week during rounds. He was always polite to Kurt, giving him small smiles, sometimes talking about his high school days when Lizzy asked - and let’s be honest here, Kurt lapped up every piece of information like a thirsty sponge - and generally being so damn adorable that it took Kurt’s breath away sometimes. Still, there was this lingering sadness in his hazel eyes he couldn’t quite suppress or hide, at least not from Kurt. He was still not sure why Dr. Anderson was so obviously sad or why he’d been on sick leave, but Kurt hadn’t been brave enough just yet to pry. He’d been enough of an impertinent cretin already, no need to make it worse.

“We’re on friendly, polite, purely platonic terms,” Kurt finally answered Rachel’s question.

She studied his face for a moment, trying to read him, then said, “It drives you absolutely mad.”

“Oh god, does it ever,” he admitted, burying his face in his hands. “If he weren’t so damn _hot_ I assure you it would be much easier not to fall for this guy.”

Rachel sat up straight so fast that Kurt wasn’t sure how she didn’t sprain something important. “Wait a second, you’re...” She looked around, then whispered furiously, “... you’re _falling_ for him? You never told me that, Kurt Hummel. Are you _nuts_? You barely know him!”

“Don’t you think I don’t know that?” Kurt replied, hissing back equally quiet. “I know it’s ridiculous but you should _see_ him. It’s... it’s _hard_ not to, okay? It’s really, really hard.”

It wasn’t just how Dr. Anderson was around Lizzy that had Kurt all aflutter for him. He’d had the opportunity to observe him with other patients as well. He was always kind, always giving his small patients his undivided attention and his utmost respect. He gave them the feeling that they were the most important person for him and frankly, Kurt had no idea how he did that. Hell, he even gave _Kurt_ the feeling of being the only person on the planet when he talked to him about Lizzy’s progress. It was ridiculous how much his eyes and his face and his _body language_ could ensnare Kurt so much that he barely knew where he was.

Rachel was still staring at him, now with a note of worry. She’d known him for a long time now and they’d had their differences but deep down, they’d always been more alike than either of them wanted to admit. She knew exactly what it meant for him to fall for a guy he didn’t know very well, let alone if he was ever able to return Kurt’s feelings, even _if_ they became friends.

“Oh Kurt,” she sighed, leaning against him and squeezing his hand. They stayed like that for a while, letting the music and the quiet murmur of conversations calm them. After a while Rachel sat up again and declared, “Let’s shake off these gloomy thoughts and dance some more.” She emptied her water bottle, signaling Kurt to do the same. When he was done she jumped out of her seat, grabbed Kurt’s hand to pull him up with her, and led the way back to the dance floor. And after a few minutes, encased by sweaty bodies having a good time, he was able to shake off the thoughts of dashing Dr. Anderson and just have fun.

***

His phone told him it was nearing two AM when he weaved his way out of the dancing masses and back to the door way near the DJ booth to get some much needed rest in the chill out lounge. He wasn’t sure how long he’d danced this time but he’d lost Rachel a long time ago. He hadn’t cared all that much, dancing in between two guys who were grinning at each other over Kurt’s shoulder. Kurt was pretty sure one of them was the guy Rachel had danced with earlier, but that had been a while ago and Kurt had had two more margaritas since then so he could just be someone that looked like him. Anyway, they were charming and not all that handsy, touching each other more than Kurt but still including him in their dance. When Kurt had to plead exhaustion, they waved at him, wrapped themselves around each other like two magnets gravitating towards each other, and forgot about Kurt completely.

Kurt stumbled a little when he entered the lounge and practically fell onto one of the couches. He closed his eyes to make the world stop spinning, and when he was fairly certain it had done so, he dared to look around.

The lounge was less populated this time around, and the few people hanging out where pretty involved in each other, and not the talking kind either. Kurt’s gaze fell on two guys sitting at the bar. One was tall with dirty blond hair, broad shoulders, a trim waist and killer legs wrapped around the legs of the bar stool. The guy next to him looked like his head was almost completely on the counter top. He, too, had broad shoulders but seemed to be stockier. The taller one was all over him, apparently not minding that his conquest was almost asleep. Then the shorter guy lifted his head from the counter top, shaking his head and looking at something in front of him. It didn’t look like he was as into the whole flirtation thing as the tall guy. That’s when something about the figure clicked inside Kurt’s brain.

He _knew_ that back. In fact, he’d looked at it quite a bit in the last few days. Sure, usually it was encased by a white lab coat or baggy blue scrubs instead of a skintight blue shirt and black denims almost _hugging_ that ass, but by god Kurt _knew_ that guy.

He was out of his seat and halfway through the lounge so fast that he didn’t even have time to get nervous before he fell into the seat next to Dr. Anderson, throwing his arm around his shoulders and effectively pushing the other guy’s arm out of the way.

“There you are,” he said to Dr. Anderson, obviously startling the man who was clearly three sheets to the wind, now that Kurt was close enough to notice. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

Dr. Anderson’s hazel eyes had difficulty focusing on him, but when they did, he slow smile Kurt had never seen before appeared on his face. “Hello,” he slurred and pressed his face against the hollow of Kurt’s throat. Hot breath hit his skin and he shivered. Almost on instinct, he buried his hand in Dr. Anderson’s soft, wavy hair and wow, it was soft and fluffy and - _concentrate_ , Kurt.

“Who’s your friend?” he asked, shooting the stranger a scathing look. The guy recoiled as if slapped, which privately pleased Kurt immensely. His bitch-face was still effective, then.

Dr. Anderson’s head raised and he turned it slightly, now squinting at the guy sitting on his other side. “He’s... uhm... the guy buying me drinks.” He gesticulated with his hand, revealing a purple bracelet while doing so. Something in Kurt’s chest hitched, then started glowing. He’d never been able to discern if Dr. Anderson swung this way or not, but seeing it black - or rather purple - on white elicited a small flare of hope in him. His heartbeat sped up.

Then what Dr. Anderson had said actually registered and he shot the guy another scathing look. From the sheepish look now directed their way it was pretty obvious what the guy’s plan had been. He raised his hands as if to convince Kurt not to kill him, slid out of his seat and mumbled, “I didn’t know he was taken, man. Sorry!” Then he was out of there faster than Kurt could blink.

As soon as he was out of sight, he let his arm drop, much as it hurt him to do so. But if Kurt was one thing then it was a gentleman. He wouldn’t ever take advantage of a totally trashed guy.

The guy in question was blinking at the vacated seat, then looked at Kurt, confused. “Where’d he go?” he mumbled, frowning and scrunching his nose up. Kurt had to bite his lip not to start cooing. If he’d thought Dr. Anderson was adorable _before_ , he was nothing compared to when he was drunk out of his mind.

Kurt stomped down on the fuzzy feelings trying to rise up in him. Instead he sniffed the full shot glass still in front of Dr. Anderson and wrinkled his nose at the concoction. “How many of those have you had?” he asked the doctor but only got another confused frown. Kurt looked at the bartender. “How many did the guy give him?”

The bartender shrugged, polishing a glass. “Like, four or five?”

Kurt tamped down on his rising fury. “What the hell is _in_ these things?”

“Vodka and Red Bull,” the bartender answered promptly, then went down the bar to tend to another customer.

Kurt sighed, shaking his head. That’s when Dr. Anderson swayed to the side and Kurt had to grab his arm to prevent him falling flat on his face. “Careful there, wouldn’t want you to need a doctor.”

That seemed to be the most hilarious thing Dr. Anderson had ever heard because he started giggling uncontrollably, pressing his face against Kurt’s neck again. Kurt had trouble swallowing around the sudden lump in his throat.

“A doctor,” Dr. Anderson wheezed, then grabbed the front of Kurt’s shirt and dragged him so close that their noses were almost touching. “I am a doctor,” he whispered not at all quietly into Kurt’s face, then held a finger to his lips and made a shushing noise. “Don’t tell anyone.”

“I’ll take it to my grave,” he replied dryly, but weirdly gentle at the same time.

Dr. Anderson nodded sagely, then crossed his arms on the counter top and let his head drop. Kurt looked around the lounge, not quite sure what to do now. He clearly couldn’t leave the man alone or he’d be molested in ten seconds flat. Then it occurred to him that maybe he’d wanted to get picked up and Kurt had cock blocked him. Something painful at the thought alone started to throb in his throat.

“Did you... uhm...” He stopped, kneading his hands in his lap while trying to figure out how to phrase this. But when he couldn’t come up with a polite way to ask, he just blurted, “Did you _want_ to get picked up by that guy?”

Dr. Anderson’s head raised and he blinked at Kurt. Kurt prattled on, “It’s just, if I interrupted something I’m sure I can find the guy again and...”

Dr. Anderson shook his head. Apparently some of that speech had made it into his brain. He pushed a hand through his hair, leaning his head against the arm still sitting on top of the counter. “I didn’t even want to come to this club,” he mumbled, closing his eyes. “My friends insisted. And then they abandoned me. I have lousy friends.”

Kurt blinked. For a drunk guy, he was surprisingly articulate. If it were Kurt, he’d be a blubbering mess.

Kurt chewed on his lower lip, waging a war with himself. He had two options here. Well, three, but one didn’t even dare thinking about. He could either leave him here to fend for himself - and seriously, as if Kurt would let that happen - or he could bring Dr. Anderson home where he’d be safe from any predators.

Really, in the end there had only been one option.

“Come on,” he said, sliding off the bar stool and putting a guiding hand on Dr. Anderson’s shoulder. “I’ll get you a cab to take you home.”

That seemed to be acceptable for the doctor because he followed Kurt’s example and slid out of his seat. Unlike Kurt, however, he almost fell flat on his face he swayed so hard. Kurt almost didn’t catch him in time, but Dr. Anderson was clinging to Kurt’s shoulders, staring at his feet with a betrayed look. Kurt bit his lip so he wouldn’t grin, then slid his arm around Dr. Anderson’s waist and guided him to the exit. While he did so, he fished his phone out and sent a quick text to Rachel so she wouldn’t worry.

_something came up. had to leave. sry._

Then he had to stop Dr. Anderson from walking into a wall and put his phone back quickly before tightening the grip on his waist and slinging Dr. Anderson’s arm around his own neck. He mumbled something into Kurt’s neck, sending another puff of warm air against Kurt’s sensitive skin. He gritted his teeth, ignored any and all improper thoughts, and marched on until finally they were outside, in front of the club with a few other groups of people waiting for cabs.

Thanks to whatever higher deity, they only had to wait for about ten minutes before a yellow cab rolled up to the curb and stopped in front of them. Kurt opened the door while clinging to one of Dr. Anderson’s arms so he wouldn’t fall over, then poured him into the backseat. He leaned down, intending to ask the man for his address so he could tell the driver, but when he saw that the man was almost asleep he sighed, pushed against his legs and squeezed in as well. The driver looked at him expectantly and Kurt shook Dr. Anderson’s thigh.

“Hey, wake up long enough so we know where to drive you,” he said quietly. Dr. Anderson’s eyes opened slowly, a drowsy look meeting Kurt’s. For a moment he wasn’t sure if Dr. Anderson had understood what he meant, but then he raised his hips in a lazy and downright _suggestive_ way that Kurt had to avert his gaze so as not to get any ideas. Focus, Kurt. _Focus._

A hand appeared in front of him, giving the driver something that looked like a driver’s license. He looked at it shortly, then nodded and pulled away from the curb. Dr. Anderson’s hand fell down, and then he was struggling to get upright. Kurt helped him as best he could until he was sitting almost upright. It didn’t take long before he listed sideways and his head came to rest on Kurt’s shoulder. He sighed, looked down at the good doctor, then sighed again, gave in to temptation and put his hand into his hair. A sleepy murmur drifted up to him and Kurt had to bite down the urge to lean down and press a kiss into the soft - seriously way too tempting in its ridiculousness - hair.

They drove for a while, Kurt losing all sense of time while sitting in the cocoon of quiet solitude the backseat of the cab provided, until it was rudely interrupted by a truly obnoxious sound. Something vibrated against his thigh and Kurt looked down. Dr. Anderson was as good as dead to the world, clearly not comprehending that his phone was vibrating in his pocket and making a racket that could raise the dead. Kurt sighed again - he seemed to do that a lot tonight - shrugged his shoulder gently in the hopes of raising the doctor, but all he got was a displeased sound before he buried his face in Kurt’s neck again.

The ringing stopped, then another obnoxious - though thankfully shorter - tone sounded before it went quiet. Kurt decided to better check what the fuss was and carefully started to dig in the other man’s pants pocket. He felt his face flush scarlet while he felt around for the damn phone, getting to know Dr. Anderson’s thigh way more than he’d intended, before his fingers finally closed around a slim mobile and pulled it out. He let out a sigh of relief and shook his head.

He looked at the screen, showing him one missed call and one new text message. He clicked on the text from someone named “Jeff”.

_where the hell r u? should we send search party?_

Kurt frowned down at the text. Clearly that was one of the friends Dr. Anderson had been rambling about. Apparently they’d finally realized they lost their puppy. Friend! Friend, not puppy, Jesus!

Kurt thought about how he’d feel if Rachel vanished without a word. He’d be frantic and call the police and everyone they knew. He only hesitated a second before he typed out a response.

_in a cab back home. ttyl_

Kurt wasn’t actually sure if they _would_ talk later but if they were friends, chances were pretty high.

A few minutes later, the cab pulled up in front of a gorgeous townhouse with a green door. Kurt stared open mouthed, then forced himself to pay attention to the driver who’d turned around to look at them. He seemed amused by the state Dr. Anderson was in.

“You need help getting him inside?” he asked in a gravelly voice. Kurt looked down at Dr. Anderson who was pretty much in Kurt’s lap at this point, then shook his head.

“I think I’ll manage. What do I owe you?”

The driver looked at his taximeter and told him. Kurt winced but handed him the money. Jesus, were they in Jersey or why was this ride so expensive?

He tried to wake Dr. Anderson up enough to vacate the cab, but while his eyes were open, Kurt doubted the man was actually awake. They stumbled onto the curb and Kurt closed the door before he had to grab for Dr. Anderson again who wrapped himself around Kurt like a limpet.

“Jesus, for such a short guy you’re quite heavy,” Kurt murmured into Dr. Anderson’s neck while trying to disentangle them. He finally managed and steered them to the house with the green front door, almost falling flat on his ass when Dr. Anderson missed the first step up to his own home. Kurt grabbed the railing at the last second, digging his hand hard into Dr. Anderson’s side. He’d probably be bruised tomorrow but it was preferable to a head wound.

With a lot of coaxing and way more dancing than Kurt had anticipated, they managed to get to the door. He checked that they had the right house and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the unobtrusive name plate stating that “B. Anderson” lived here.

“Keys?” he panted, completely exhausted from the herculean task of getting Dr. Anderson up the front steps. He just hoped there weren’t any more stairs involved inside.

Dr. Anderson tried to dig around in his pants pockets and fell against the door but finally unearthed them, showing them to Kurt with a triumphant smile.

“God, you’re adorable,” Kurt mumbled and took the keys to open the front door. He felt around for a light switch and hit it when he found one. He could only see a front hall with a coat rack, so he maneuvered Dr. Anderson inside and closed the door. At least he couldn’t take a dive down the front steps anymore.

When they crossed the front hall and stumbled through another door, however, Kurt almost started to cry. Of _course_ there were more stairs. Knowing Kurt’s luck, his bedroom was on the third floor or something. He briefly thought about dumping the man on the couch in the living room which was _right there_ but then decided that the headache tomorrow would be punishment enough, no need to add a sore back to it.

He juggled Dr. Anderson awake who’d let his head fall onto Kurt’s shoulder yet again. He’d probably sleep while standing up at this point.

“Where’s your bedroom?” he asked the man who looked around in confusion before aiming for the stairs. Kurt sighed, shaking his head, and went after him to assist him.

It took them an embarrassingly long time to walk up the stairs, but thank god the bedroom seemed to be on that landing at least, if he took Dr. Anderson’s staggering down the short hallway to a partly open door as any indication. Kurt followed, his hands outstretched in case Dr. Anderson fell down and he had to catch him. But he managed fine and collapsed on his bed which, Kurt had to admit, looked very inviting and comfortable.

He debated with himself for a moment if he should undress the man to be more comfortable, then decided against it. He only slipped off his shoes and the belt before putting a blanket over the sleeping form.

Or maybe not quite sleeping yet as he found out when suddenly a hand shot out of the confines of the bedspread and latched onto Kurt’s wrist. Hazel eyes looked at him, all soft and grateful and _oh god stop making me fall in love with you, you bastard!_

Kurt held his breath, his pulse quickening under Dr. Anderson’s soft gaze, waiting for whatever the man wanted to tell him. Then his grip loosened, his eyes closed and his head hit the pillow. Not a second later he started snoring softly, face pressed into the pillow. If he stayed like that he’d probably suffocate during the night.

Kurt sighed, hung his head and rubbed his hands over his face. This man would be the death of him, he just knew it. He couldn’t just leave him here all alone. If he didn’t smother himself in his sleep, he’d probably stumble over his own feet and brain himself the next morning due to a killer hangover.

“You are such a pushover for pretty boys,” Kurt chastised himself before he slid a hand under Dr. Anderson’s head to turn it a little so he wouldn’t suffocate. Then he looked around for the door to the bathroom, crossed the room and filled a glass of water. He rummaged around in the mirror cabinet for some painkillers, then went back into the bedroom and put everything on the nightstand.

He allowed himself one last soothing caress through the man’s hair before he went back into the bathroom to look into the mirror. He noticed the tired lines around his eyes and the fact that he would look puffy tomorrow if he didn’t do his beauty regime tonight. Then he sighed, shaking his head at himself.

“Such a pushover,” he said again before leaning down to wash his face with water and soap.

***

Kurt woke up with a start when something made a loud banging noise, shortly followed by a heart felt “ _Shit!_ ”. He shot up from where he’d slept on the couch of the very spacious living room and almost had a heart attack when Dr. Anderson yelped at him. Kurt yelped back while both of them stared at each other like deers caught in headlights. Kurt’s heart was beating double time and he just hoped he hadn’t inherited his dad’s bad heart or otherwise he might keel over right there and then.

Then Dr. Anderson squinted at him, but seemed to regret it immediately when he winced and put a hand to his forehead. “Shit shit shit,” he mumbled, leaning against the railing.

“Didn’t you take the painkillers I put next to your bed?” Kurt asked as quietly as possible. Dr. Anderson opened his eyes, blinking at him in confusion. He started to shake his head, seemed to think better of it and only mumbled, “I don’t understand. What are you even _doing_ here?”

“Trying to make sure you don’t kill yourself during the night,” Kurt replied, then threw the blanket that he’d found on the back of the couch aside and stood up. He tried not to think about how he looked right now, in his boxer briefs and a shirt he’d borrowed from Dr. Anderson’s hall closet.

Dr. Anderson seemed to realize that the same time Kurt thought about it but then he just grimaced and said in a pained voice, “I need some coffee.”

“What you need is water and some painkillers,” Kurt countered. “And preferably something to eat. Seriously, are you even a doctor?”

Before Dr. Anderson could reply, Kurt turned around and walked past him to the kitchen which he’d scouted out the night before for some water. He heard Dr. Anderson following him but he ignored him, opening the cupboard where he’d found glasses last night and took one out, filled it with tap water and then turned around to see Dr. Anderson sitting at his breakfast counter, head in his hands and squinting against the bright light flooding the kitchen.

“Here,” Kurt said quietly and put the glass in front of the man before sliding into the seat across. Dr. Anderson seemed to contemplate if he should try to drink anything at all, then seemed to come to the conclusion that it would only get worse if he didn’t and downed half the glass in a few swallows. Kurt was impressed.

“My head is killing me,” Dr. Anderson finally said, squinting at Kurt again. “And I’m still not sure what exactly you’re doing here.”

“I ran into you at the club last night,” Kurt explained, getting up and walking over to the fridge in search for something the man could eat and keep down. “You were three sheets to the wind at that point and some guy was cruising you. You didn’t seem to be capable of saying yes or no so I took it upon myself to escort you home and tuck you into bed.”

He closed the door of the fridge, turning back to Dr. Anderson who looked decidedly red in the cheeks, pushing a hand through his wild mop of hair. Kurt wanted to jump him.

He ground his teeth, closed his eyes for a moment and said apropos of nothing, “You seriously have nothing to eat in here at all. How do you survive?”

“Mostly on take-out. I’m barely home these days,” Dr. Anderson admitted, then groaned. “I never should’ve let Jeff and Nick talk me into going out with them. What was I thinking?” He sat up suddenly, looking horrified. “Oh god, I never told them where I went last night!”

“Don’t worry,” Kurt soothed him. “Jeff texted you and I replied for you that you’re on your way home.”

When he received a slightly weird look, Kurt realized how creepy that had sounded. He rubbed his forehead and slid back into his seat. “Look, I figured it was better that I bring you home instead of some sleazy guy. At least you know where to find me seven days a week, so I couldn’t really do much without some serious repercussions. Not that I would ever do something like that.”

Dr. Anderson continued to stare at him, though now he looked more confused than weirded out. In the end he just put his head back on his hand and said, “I really need some coffee.”

“I’ll make you a deal,” Kurt said, waiting until he had Dr. Anderson’s attention. “You’ll have breakfast with me and I give you coffee. Deal?”

Dr. Anderson thought about it for a few moments, then seemed to think it an acceptable offer and nodded at Kurt. “Deal.”

***

Twenty minutes later they sat in a café down the block of Dr. Anderson’s townhouse, waiting for their breakfast to arrive. Kurt had ordered a melon fruit salad for the man, swearing up and down that it would help settle his stomach before he should attempt anything as ambitious as coffee or, god forbid, toast! Dr. Anderson was clearly still only half awake and agreed with everything Kurt said.

The fruit salad came first and Kurt observed the man while he took his first few bites of melon. The color came slowly back into Dr. Anderson’s face, and when their actual breakfast arrived, Kurt was fairly certain the other man would be able to keep it down.

They ate in silence for a bit, each of them lost in their own world. Kurt tried not to think about how terribly over- and under dressed he was at the same time - wearing his clubbing clothes from the night before which were gross in so many ways but also way too flashy for a cute little café like the one they were currently residing in - and just hoped this man was worth all the trouble. He didn’t venture in public in a day old set of clothes for just anyone.

After a while Kurt had the courage to ask, “How come you were so drunk that you barely remember anything? You don’t exactly strike me as the type.”

Dr. Anderson actually blushed and tried to hide it behind his coffee cup. And here Kurt had thought he couldn’t get any cuter.

“He wanted to buy me a drink,” Dr. Anderson explained. “And then he bought me more and it would’ve been terribly rude if I hadn’t drunk them. They were so expensive.”

Kurt stared at him in disbelief. “Wow, you’re one of those.”

Dr. Anderson frowned at him. “One of who?” he asked before taking a sip.

Kurt smiled, “The overly polite ones who don’t want to offend anyone, even if it means almost getting alcohol poisoning.”

Dr. Anderson’s flush, which had been receding, came back with a vengeance. He hung his head briefly before looking up at Kurt and smiling ruefully. “You might have a point.”

“Of course I do,” Kurt sniffed, then winked at Dr. Anderson and almost bit through his lip to stop grinning when the man blushed yet again.

“Anyway, I think I owe you a thank you,” Dr. Anderson resumed their conversation, clearly flustered.

“Don’t mention it,” Kurt replied. “I wouldn’t have wanted to be alone if I’d have been in your shoes. If I’d have left you to your own devices, my dad would probably have rung me up and asked me what I’ve done that he was so angry with me.”

A surprised laugh escaped Dr. Anderson and Kurt widened his eyes. “I’m serious. That man is psychic.”

Dr. Anderson snorted into his coffee cup and Kurt allowed himself a small smile. They fell silent for a bit, enjoying their meal. Finally Kurt couldn’t contain his curiosity any longer. Setting his cup down, he stared at Dr. Anderson and said, “I swear I’m usually not that impolite but apparently it’s my lot in life to be just that around you. So please don’t take this the wrong way but what the _hell_ were you doing in a club like that if you didn’t want to be there in the first place, much less being cruised?”

Dr. Anderson stared at him like a deer caught in headlights. He put his own cup down on the table slowly and for a heart stopping moment Kurt thought he’d pushed too far and the man would leave, but then he rubbed a hand over his forehead and explained, “It wasn’t my idea. Two old friends from my high school days were in town and decided I needed to get back out there after... after my relationship fell apart.”

Kurt could read between the lines here. It hadn’t been Dr. Anderson’s idea to break up. In fact, if Kurt read this correctly, he was still hung up on the guy.

Trying for nonchalant but having the impression he was as transparent as glass, he asked, “Did he cheat on you?”

For a moment Dr. Anderson seemed startled that Kurt had used the right pronoun for his significant other. Then he obviously remembered the colored bracelets from last night and he flushed in embarrassment. Kurt could tell.

Shaking his head, he mumbled, “If ‘planning to emigrate to the UK since he was 16 and not telling me about it for seven years’ is another word for ‘cheating’, then yes, he did.”

Kurt stopped breathing for a moment, trying to get all this information in some semblance of order. They’d been together for seven years, and the guy - whoever he was - had planned to leave since the beginning without even bothering to tell his partner or discuss the possibility of him emigrating as well. Seven years, holy shit. If Kurt had been in a relationship like that, he’d probably have started planning their wedding. Judging from Dr. Anderson’s uncomfortable body language, he’d probably thought along the same lines.

Something cold lodged in Kurt’s chest. Seven years. What sort of moron would give up someone like Dr. Anderson in favor of another country? If Kurt had even a slight chance to share this man’s life, he’d hold on and never let go.

He froze at the sudden realization. Oh, great. That was just fucking great.

He was so fucking screwed.

Kurt pushed the unwelcome realization aside that he was seriously head over heels for this guy already and cleared his throat. “Wow,” was all he could come up with, and he gave himself a mental slap to the head for being so inarticulate.

Dr. Anderson seemed to be grateful though. At this point he’d probably heard enough platitudes and exclamations of sorrow about the break up to last him two life times.

He seemed to ponder something, maybe how he could excuse himself without seeming impolite or something, but then he rubbed his eyebrow and said, “Ethan and I... we never really talked about what we expected from each other. We just sort of fell into this... _thing_ , and we were happy so I never questioned it. I never asked what his long term plans were. I just... assumed.”

“Well, Dr. Anderson,” Kurt said, trying for nonchalant but landing somewhere between too earnest and flirty, “in case you are assuming things again, we’re only out for breakfast because you had nothing edible at your place. Of course, I enjoy our outing and find our conversations quite... shall we say _enlightening_ , and I certainly wouldn’t object to repeating the experience, but I wouldn’t want to _assume_ anything either.”

Dr. Anderson stared at Kurt as if he’d never seen anyone like him before in his entire life. Then a slow, shy smile appeared on his face and, ducking his head, he said, “Blaine.”

Kurt almost stopped breathing. “I’m sorry?”

Dr. Anderson looked up again, now openly smiling at Kurt who could barely remember how to breathe. “If we repeat this experience and pursue a friendship, which I wouldn’t object to either as I quite like your company and dry humor and seeing as I am severely lacking some sensible friends it seems, I think it would be of importance for you to know my name.” He took a deep breath, then held out his hand and finished, “Hello. I’m Blaine.”

Kurt stared at the hand, then into the man’s face, before something shifted in him and he knew that he was a lost cause. He gripped the hand, reveling in the strong handshake while he said quietly, “Hello, Blaine. Nice to meet you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Quick note at the end: this turned out longer than expected and they are still not at a point where you could really call them friends. I know the tag "Friends to Lovers" is a little misleading right now, but they WILL get there in the end. It just... takes longer than expected.
> 
> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!


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